You could make a pretty good case for Avatar: The Last Airbender being one of the best new pop culture mythologies to debut in the last decade or so. Creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko made a world where young people embodied hope, even as they were thrust into a war that tore their lives apart. Yeah, there was a crappy movie, but overall, the Airbender fiction is a poignant adventure that constantly surprises you with how it ups the stakes.

Airbender acolytes can get a deeper look inside the Water Tribes, Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation and Air Nomads thanks to two new books being published by Dark Horse Comics. First up is Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Search, Part Two, followed by The Legend of Korra: The Art of the Animated Series, Book One. Both books come out in July and you can get an exclusive look inside the Korra artbook via the images below.

THE LEGEND OF KORRA: THE ART OF THE ANIMATED SERIES BOOK ONE-AIR HC

Michael Dante DiMartino (W) and Bryan Konietzko (W/Cover)

On sale July 24
FC, 184 pages
$34.99
HC, 9" x 12"

This handsome hardcover contains hundreds of pieces of never-before-seen artwork created during the development of Season 1 of The Legend of Korra. With captions from Mike and Bryan throughout, this is an intimate look inside the creative process that brought the mystical world of bending and a new generation of heroes to life!

In search of their long-lost mother, Fire Lord Zuko and his deadly and insane sister Azula have brought Avatar Aang and his friends into a mysterious forest, but what they discover within may be more than they can face. Will they too be lost in these woods forever?